The versatility of tractors and like equipment is in part provided by tractor-supported hitch arrangements which permit attachment of a wide variety of implements to a tractor. Hitching arrangements of this nature may be provided for tractors of all sizes, and typically include arrangements for mounting implements at the front and rear of the tractor. A well-known rear hitching arrangement is the so-called three point hitch, which supports an implement at the rear of the tractor at a pair of laterally spaced lower points and a centrally disposed upper point, usually in an adjustable fashion.
One type of implement which may be mounted on a tractor for purposes of mobility is a log splitter. A common configuration for a device of this nature includes an elongated frame which supports a cutting table. A hydraulically powered motor, usually a fluid ram, provides a working action for the splitter such that a log or piece of wood positioned on the splitter table is split by relative movement of the log and a blade of the splitter. In some arrangements, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,760,854, to Worthington, and 3,938,567, to Dircksen et al., the hydraulic motor is disposed such that the log is moved by the motor against a fixed blade mounted on the splitter to cause the log to split. In other arrangements, such as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,319,675 to Bles, Sr., the hydraulic motor is operatively connected with a movable blade projecting upwardly of the splitter table through a slot therein for splitting movement through the log which is held in position by a fixed abutment member.
Log splitters of this type are extremely useful for reducing logs or pieces of wood to manageable sizes for use in fireplaces, furnaces, and the like. Mounting of the log splitter on a tractor provides mobility so that the log splitter may be easily positioned in an area where large logs are located. The hydraulic system of the tractor is typically adapted to power the hydraulic motor of the log splitter so that an additional power source is not required.
While hydraulic log splitters of this type provide great labor savings by splitting logs in an efficient manner, a fair amount of physical effort is still necessary in order to pick up the logs or pieces of wood and position them atop the cutting table of the splitter. Obviously, this can present some problems when it is desired to split an unusually large log, and even at best, repeated use of the splitter to cut many logs can be physically demanding. Thus, a mounting arrangement for a log splitter which would permit reorientation of the splitter along its longitudinal axis so that logs could be left on the ground and the splitter positioned for splitting without having to lift the log onto the cutting table would clearly provide tremendous labor savings and additional versatility for log splitting arrangements.